State of Origin 2020: Mal Meninga joins Wayne Bennett as Queensland Maroons assistant
He’s the most successful Maroons coach of all time, and now an NRL immortal will join Wayne Bennett in his Queensland comeback to help save the Origin side from their injury crisis.
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Injury-torn Queensland have pulled out the big guns with NRL Immortal Mal Meninga to join forces with Wayne Bennett in a coaching dream team plotting a “Maroons miracle” in this year’s Origin series.
Queensland Rugby League chairman Bruce Hatcher confirmed Bennett has hired Meninga as his assistant as the 70-year-old super coach leaves no stone unturned in his quest to engineer another Maroons fairytale.
Queensland are rank outsiders to win this year’s historic November series following a slew of injuries to incumbents headlined by Kalyn Ponga, Michael Morgan, Moses Mbye and David Fifita, while Cameron Munster is in grave doubt with a knee problem.
But Bennett is confident he can reprise his 2001 Origin heroics after enlisting Australia coach Meninga, who offered his services due to the COVID pandemic which has put international football on ice this year.
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The NRL Immortal is statistically the greatest coach in Origin history, having won nine of 10 series, with Hatcher backing the Bennett-Meninga alliance to snap NSW’s quest for a third consecutive title.
“I never thought this day would come. It’s a Maroons miracle,” Hatcher said.
“We will have a very young side and to have those two guys mentoring the team, I’m sure it will be a huge boost for team morale.
“I believe their skills are complementary. There are a number of things Wayne does well and Mal does other things particularly well and when you put them together you basically have the perfect coach.
“For them to come back in a time where NSW think they have won the series 3-0, their confidence, aura and experience will help enormously.”
Bennett and Meninga have had a 40-year relationship dating back to their time at the Queensland Police Academy.
But the pair fell out briefly in 2015 when they both applied for the Kangaroos post, with Bennett ruffling feathers when he blasted Meninga’s desire to take on the role full-time, arguing coaching Australia was a part-time position.
Meninga ultimately prevailed and the high-powered duo ended up on a collision course when Bennett agreed to coach England, who lost 6-0 to Australia in the 2017 World Cup final.
But Bennett and Meninga have since smoked the peace pipe and have held a number of discussions over the past week as they combine their formidable coaching records into bringing down the Blues.
Between them, Bennett and Meninga have collectively coached Queensland in 18 Origin series. They have won 31 of 52 games, a combined winning percentage of almost 60 per cent.
Just a fortnight ago, Meninga missed out to Bennett for the Queensland Origin job for this year’s series after Kevin Walters, who clinched the Broncos job, was forced to stand down.
“Wayne and Mal had some chats and they have got on like a house on fire over this,” Hatcher said.
“I am glad that Wayne and Mal have sorted out their differences and can channel their energies into winning the Origin series for Queensland.
“One of the board members originally said how about Mal coaching the team. When we decided to go with Wayne, out of the blue we had another phone call saying Mal was keen to help out and could come on board as an assistant.
“They are two of the most successful coaches in Origin history so it’s a huge boost for us. This is the Queensland Origin coaching dream team.”
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When he was named an NRL Immortal two years ago, Meninga credited Bennett for the role he had played in his life as a young man and footballer.
“I’ve already acknowledged Wayne and the great role he played in my life as a 15, 16, 17-year-old kid who was growing up and didn’t quite understand what life was all about,” Meninga said.
“I wanted to be a policeman and arrest people, but he said I had some sort of talent with footy.
“We grew up looking at Vince Lombardi (American Football coaching legend) and how he prepared teams and how he set goals and I remember it vividly.
“Wayne told me I can be anything I wanted to be, as long as I put my mind to it and I went back to my room at the Academy and set a goal.
“I wanted to play for Queensland, I wanted to play for Australia. I wanted to play for Queensland in 1979 as an 18-year-old kid and people laughed at me when I told them, but it didn’t deter me because I loved the game and I wanted to reach my potential.”